


Absence

by Jaina



Series: 31 Slices [12]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-12
Updated: 2008-03-12
Packaged: 2017-11-10 11:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaina/pseuds/Jaina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs leaves. What happens to those who remain behind?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absence

She sits at her desk for a while after Ducky drives Gibbs home. Tony is called up to the Director's office and McGee is unusually silent. She watches him for a moment, vaguely hoping that this will be one of the moments that he choses to speak to her - to realize that she is not always a tough Mossad agent without feelings or emotions. Today though, Timothy is too wrapped up in Gibbs' absence to notice her.

She's walking towards the elevator before she realizes what she's doing. Abby doesn't acknowledge her when she enters her lab. She doesn't look up from her work. She just continues. She processes a fingerprint into the computer and starts a search. A substance is scraped off a shirt, introduced into a test beaker and put into the mass spectrometer. Ziva watches her until she can't stand the zombie like motions any longer. This isn't like Abby.

Ziva steps in front of her as she moves from her computer to the counter that she likes to spread evidence out on. Abby squeezes her eyes so tightly shut that Ziva can see little wrinkles form in the corners of her eyes. Her fists clench at her side. When she opens them again, Ziva is still staring at her and she hasn't moved. Abby pushes past her, jostling Ziva roughly out of the way.

Ziva reaches out with speed Abby can't evade, and grabs her wrist, pulling her back around to face her.

"Let me go," Abby breathes the words in a low voice. It's the first time she's spoken.

"No." Ziva answers her simply.

"I said let go." Abby yanks at her wrist, but Ziva refuses to loosen her grip. It's firm, steady and unmoving, but not painful. "Just let me do my job, Ziva."

"This is not you doing your job. This is like a sod-person you."

"Pop Person," Abby corrects with a grimace. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

"Because Gibbs would not want you to be sad and alone."

"Well, Gibbs isn't here, is he," Abby retorts, "And besides, why do you care."

"I do care. Is that not enough? Is that not what you wished?" Ziva's voice breaks on the last word and Abby stares. She had never expected to see this from Ziva, and she isn't quite sure what to say.

Her hands flutter at her sides. A wild idea flits through her mind and then she is clasping both sides of Ziva's face in her hands, pulling her closer and bruising her lips against Ziva's. She repeats the motion more gently, and then swipes her tongue across them, seeking to deepen the kiss. Ziva responds without hesitation, opening her mouth and letting Abby in.

Slowly, gradually the kiss eases until Ziva pulls away to look Abby in the eyes.

"What was that," she asks slowly.

A kiss" Abby shrugs at a loss for words once again in the wake of her impulsive idea. "It was Tony's suggestion."

"Tony is, perhaps, not so dumb as he sometimes seems," Ziva allows, her fingers tracing slowly over her lips.

"Yeah," Abby says with a faint smile, "I think you're right."

Gibbs was still gone, but just for a moment it had been nice to forget the oppressive absence of his departure.


End file.
